Read Online How to Create the Next Facebook: Seeing Your Startup Through, From Idea to IPO by Tom Taulli - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Tom Taulli
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Deals, which looked a lot like Groupon. The service was piloted in five cities but got little traction and it was eventually canceled as well.
This is not to say that it is wrong to experiment with adding new features from time to time. Keep in mind that even though Facebook’s Subscribefeature—which pushes to your News Feed the public updates of users to which you decide to subscribe—looks a lot like Twitter, the service was a good idea and is consistent with Zuckerberg’s mission. So, be conscientious when you are thinking about adding a new feature and ask yourself: Am I doing this because it’s good for my users or because I don’t want to be left behind? If you can’t genuinely say that the feature will benefit your users, spare yourself the hassle and forget about it.
Mobile First
There’s little doubt that mobile is a megatrend and represents a huge opportunity for tech startups. The key driver in mobile is the supergrowth in smartphones, especially in devices running Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. Table 3-1 includes just a few data points regarding the anticipated growth in mobile from 2011 to 2016. As you can see, the figures are staggering.
Smartphones and tablets are becoming an integral part of the daily lives of many consumers who are using these highly habit-forming devices to checkout the news, shop, get directions, listen to music, and play games. Have you noticed how many people walk and drive while looking down at their smartphones?
__________
4 Jeff Blagdon, “IDC Forecasts 1.16 Billion Smartphones Shipped Annually by 2016,” The Verge, March 29, 2012, theverge.com/2012/3/29/2910399/idc-smartphone-computer-tabletsales-2011.
5 Dan Graziano, “IDC Ups Tablet Estimates, Expects Shipments to Reach 222.1 Million by 2016,” BGR, Jun2 15, 2012, www.bgr.com/2012/06/15/apple-ipad-android-tablet-shipments/ .
6 Jason Ankeny, “Forecast: Consumers Will Download 66B Mobile Apps Annually by 2016,” Fierce Mobile Content, April 5, 2012, www.fiercemobilecontent.com/story/forecast-consumers-will-download-66b-mobile-apps-annually-2016/2012-04-05 .
7 Jeff Blagdon, “Mobile Entertainment Revenues to Eclipse $65B in 2016,” Fierce Mobile Content, March 29, 2012, www.fiercemobilecontent.com/story/forecast-mobile-entertainment-revenues-eclipse-65b-2016/2012-06-13 .
Mobile users are also increasingly using their devices for social networking, so it should come as no surprise that mobile usage on Facebook has surged. By the first quarter of 2012, the site had more than 500 million monthly active users for its mobile products.
However, Facebook has struggled with developing mobile products, which thus far have tended to be relatively slow and are packed with too many features. Why is Facebook still struggling with these issues? It could be because Facebook’s DNA is that of a Web-based company that focuses on users’ desktop experience. Creating an engaging interface for the mobile environment is a whole different ballgame. Success in mobile is not a matter of just slapping a Web app on a mobile device; rather, you have to understand how to create a strong mobile experience for your users.
It should not be a surprise, then, that Facebook plunked down $1 billion for Instagram, a fast-growing mobile photo app that had begun to threaten Photos, a key component of Facebook’s business. Instagram, which is an example of a company with a primary focus on the development of its mobile app (also known as a mobile-first company), understands that when it comes to mobile, simplicity is even more important than it is with desktop apps. When Kevin Systrom and Michel Krieger created Instagram, they first brainstormed all the problems they had with existing mobile photo-sharing apps—and there were many. From there, they wanted to solve three of the most frustrating problems they could come up with:
Mobile photos don’t look so good. They often seemed to be washed out, most likely because of poor lighting.
This is not to say that it is wrong to experiment with adding new features from time to time. Keep in mind that even though Facebook’s Subscribefeature—which pushes to your News Feed the public updates of users to which you decide to subscribe—looks a lot like Twitter, the service was a good idea and is consistent with Zuckerberg’s mission. So, be conscientious when you are thinking about adding a new feature and ask yourself: Am I doing this because it’s good for my users or because I don’t want to be left behind? If you can’t genuinely say that the feature will benefit your users, spare yourself the hassle and forget about it.
Mobile First
There’s little doubt that mobile is a megatrend and represents a huge opportunity for tech startups. The key driver in mobile is the supergrowth in smartphones, especially in devices running Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. Table 3-1 includes just a few data points regarding the anticipated growth in mobile from 2011 to 2016. As you can see, the figures are staggering.
Smartphones and tablets are becoming an integral part of the daily lives of many consumers who are using these highly habit-forming devices to checkout the news, shop, get directions, listen to music, and play games. Have you noticed how many people walk and drive while looking down at their smartphones?
__________
4 Jeff Blagdon, “IDC Forecasts 1.16 Billion Smartphones Shipped Annually by 2016,” The Verge, March 29, 2012, theverge.com/2012/3/29/2910399/idc-smartphone-computer-tabletsales-2011.
5 Dan Graziano, “IDC Ups Tablet Estimates, Expects Shipments to Reach 222.1 Million by 2016,” BGR, Jun2 15, 2012, www.bgr.com/2012/06/15/apple-ipad-android-tablet-shipments/ .
6 Jason Ankeny, “Forecast: Consumers Will Download 66B Mobile Apps Annually by 2016,” Fierce Mobile Content, April 5, 2012, www.fiercemobilecontent.com/story/forecast-consumers-will-download-66b-mobile-apps-annually-2016/2012-04-05 .
7 Jeff Blagdon, “Mobile Entertainment Revenues to Eclipse $65B in 2016,” Fierce Mobile Content, March 29, 2012, www.fiercemobilecontent.com/story/forecast-mobile-entertainment-revenues-eclipse-65b-2016/2012-06-13 .
Mobile users are also increasingly using their devices for social networking, so it should come as no surprise that mobile usage on Facebook has surged. By the first quarter of 2012, the site had more than 500 million monthly active users for its mobile products.
However, Facebook has struggled with developing mobile products, which thus far have tended to be relatively slow and are packed with too many features. Why is Facebook still struggling with these issues? It could be because Facebook’s DNA is that of a Web-based company that focuses on users’ desktop experience. Creating an engaging interface for the mobile environment is a whole different ballgame. Success in mobile is not a matter of just slapping a Web app on a mobile device; rather, you have to understand how to create a strong mobile experience for your users.
It should not be a surprise, then, that Facebook plunked down $1 billion for Instagram, a fast-growing mobile photo app that had begun to threaten Photos, a key component of Facebook’s business. Instagram, which is an example of a company with a primary focus on the development of its mobile app (also known as a mobile-first company), understands that when it comes to mobile, simplicity is even more important than it is with desktop apps. When Kevin Systrom and Michel Krieger created Instagram, they first brainstormed all the problems they had with existing mobile photo-sharing apps—and there were many. From there, they wanted to solve three of the most frustrating problems they could come up with:
Mobile photos don’t look so good. They often seemed to be washed out, most likely because of poor lighting.
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